Ubisoft Not Releasing An Assassin's Creed On Wii U This Year

If you want to visualize how caught between generations the Wii U is at present, there's perhaps no better example than Ubisoft's latest slight to
Nintendo.

Assassin's Creed: Unity was announced some time ago as a new-gen game in the series to be released for
Sony's PS4 and
Microsoft's Xbox One. Then, yesterday, we saw the official unveiling of the last-gen game, Assassin's Creed: Rogue, coming to PS3 and Xbox 360.

So no, Ubisoft apparently doesn't consider the Wii U current gen or last gen at this point, and it simply exists as a console that isn't worth developing for. While the Wii U continues to release great first party games (or games that at least use Nintendo's own IP), this is further evidence that their relationship with third party publishers and developers is only getting worse over time.

This is especially significant because Ubisoft was one of Nintendo's biggest supporters during the debut of the Wii U. They worked hard to bring unique experiences to the console like ZombiU, but were rewarded with mediocre sales due to the slow movement of the console.

Lately, Ubisoft has outright said that they won't be focusing on the Wii U until there's a broader userbase to develop for. And this Assassin's Creed news is apparently them following through on their word.

While I understand new-gen games not wanting to strip themselves down to function on the Wii U, it's another matter when last-gen versions of these games are already being developed. Assassin's Creed: Rogue is specifically designed for older consoles, and yet even if the Wii U could handle it, Ubisoft can't be bothered. I have to imagine it's because the console is just plain harder to develop for, and that could also have something to do with gamepad functionality, an item Nintendo always wants included in their games. Similarly, we know that four-platform Destiny won't be making its way to Wii U, despite existing on older consoles. I would guess that's likely due to Nintendo's lackluster online capabilities, more than anything graphics and gamepad related, however.

This Ubisoft news also raises the question if the promised Watch Dogs U will ever actually make it to Nintendo's console. The game was famously split off from a five-platform release this spring, with an entirely separate team devoted to bringing the game to Wii U. Watch Dogs was a game that featured obvious uses for a tablet-like controller, but instead of being first on the priority list, the Wii U was last, and now I think it's fair to question whether or not it will ever be released for the console at all.

Nintendo just does not seem interested enough in courting third party publishers to ensure big releases are coming to their consoles. Assassin's Creed has been one franchise that has routinely made it to Wii systems, even when other companies like Activision and EA avoided the platform, but now Nintendo doesn't even have that series in its corner. And this situation also exemplifies the Wii U's stuck between worlds problem, not viewed as fully old or new. It's caught in the middle, simply too much trouble to develop for between its graphics, online, the gamepad, Nintendo's own policies, or any number of other issues.

I'm not sure I even buy Ubisoft's old argument about the console not having a broad enough install base to develop for, either. The system is a year behind its competition, yes, but it has sold about as many consoles as the Xbox One, if not a few more. I think there are enough Wii U's where its players would eat up more third party releases, but the real problem is that developers can't be bothered to develop for the console just because it seems to be a more arduous process than with Sony or Microsoft or on PC.

I maintain that if Nintendo could create a console to play all its amazing first party properties and the big AAA cross-platform releases, no other system could stand before it. But it seems like they're forever behind the curve in terms of being able to do that, always trying to solve problems its competition figured out five years ago. But now, things are getting worse. With Assassin's Creed: Rogue, a specifically last-gen game skipping the system, they're not behind the curve, they're not even on the curve at all. And that's an uncomfortable place to be.